Top 10 Coaches With The Highest Salaries

Number 4

Team: New York Knicks Estimated Annual Salary: $5 million

The only man with more wins than Don Nelson, Wilkens, the coach of six different teams since the 1970s, is also fifth all-time in playoff victories. He won his only championship as coach in 1979, with Seattle, and was named Coach of the Year in 1994 with Atlanta. Lenny Wilkens was earning $5 million last year coaching the Raptors before getting fired. His current salary is being paid in part by the Raptors and in part by the Knicks.

Number 3

Team: Dallas Mavericks Estimated Annual Salary: $5.1 million

Nellie is earning a little over $5 million in a dual role as coach and general manager. But he'd probably be earning close to that even without the GM role. Don Nelson ranks second all-time on the list of NBA coaching victories. In previous stints with Milwaukee and Golden State, he showed a knack for evaluating talent and was named Coach of the Year three times. That would explain Dallas' drastic improvement since he took over, going from a 16-win team in his first season to a 60-win team in 2003.

Number 2

Team: Washington Redskins Estimated Annual Salary: $5.7 million

Gibbs will receive roughly $28 million for a 5-year contract — that's pretty good for a man who's been out of football for about a decade. How could the Skins justify paying Gibbs $5.7 million after watching Steve Spurrier make the team worse while earning $5 million a year? Because unlike Spurrier, Gibbs has a good history with the Redskins — four trips to the Super Bowl and three wins in a 12-year period. Chances are his Hall of Fame credentials can turn the franchise around again.

Number 1

Team: Los Angeles Lakers Estimated Annual Salary: $6 million

Why does Phil Jackson top the list? Part of it is due to the nine championships in 13 years. Part of it is due to his winning three straight titles three times. And part of it is the fact that Jackson holds virtually every coaching record possible, such as career winning percentage for both regular season games and the playoffs. But perhaps the biggest part is the fact that players want to play for him. Signing Jackson to a hefty 5-year, $30 million contract is what allowed the Lakers to sign Karl Malone and Gary Payton for millions below market value.

it pays to be a coach

As for the future, these high coaching salaries will likely only get higher. Some of the highest didn't even make the list, like George Karl who was fired from his $7 million a year contract with the Bucks, and Pat Riley who was earning $8 million as coach and president before he stepped down as coach.

But it seems baseball and hockey have some catching up to do. The highest hockey salaries of around $2 million a year wouldn't even have cracked the Top 20.

Question: Greg Popovich is the only active coach besides Phil Jackson to have won a title in the last decade. Where do his two NBA championships place him on the salary list?

Answer: With $4 million a year, Popovich would round out the Top 10 for the NBA, along with Rick Adleman of Sacramento and Jerry Sloan of the Jazz.